VISION 2024 Regional networks create 'synergies' in vast UPMC health system, leaders say

Feb. 23—JOHNSTOWN, Pa. — The connection to the UPMC health system's spectrum of advanced care was among the driving forces for local hospitals in Cumberland as well as the Pennsylvania communities of Somerset, Altoona and Bedford when they joined the Pittsburgh giant.

As the system has evolved, leaders saw value in creating regional networks within the vast UPMC organization, they said.

"We are centralizing within the regions some of the highest levels of specialty care in order to leverage those resources," Dr. David Burwell said. "We do things within those regions to ensure that we are giving the right level of care at the right place and the right time."

Burwell is chief medical officer and chief quality officer for the West Central Pennsylvania and Western Maryland Region, which includes UPMC Somerset, UPMC Bedford, UPMC Altoona and UPMC Western Maryland in Cumberland.

While patients have the option of receiving advanced care at one of the Pittsburgh UPMC flagship hospitals, the regional approach provides convenient access to many services without facing the big-city traffic, UPMC Somerset President Andrew Rush said.

UPMC Altoona and UPMC Western Maryland, for example, offer many tertiary services, such as stroke care and heart surgery, for patients at Bedford and Somerset.

"Being in a region, it's nice the patients have a choice," Rush said. "Some of the patients don't like to travel to Pittsburgh. They find the city quite daunting, but they have no trouble going up (Route) 219 or 220 to Altoona, which is about the same distance, but far less traffic and confusion."

'Great synergies'

One example is the Cumberland hospital's heart surgery program's convenience for patients in southern Somerset County.

"We took our cardiac surgeon and met with the cardiologist at Somerset to increase some referrals," UPMC Western Maryland President Michele Martz said. "At that Pennsylvania-Maryland line, there were some patients that had been going to Altoona and it would have been closer to come to Cumberland to have cardiac surgery."

Gastrointestinal procedures and stroke treatment at Cumberland and Altoona are other areas of referral, Martz said.

"There are really a lot of great synergies among the hospitals," she said.

The regional hub system allows patients to receive most follow-up care through UPMC's doctors and support staff at their home hospitals.

"We share these extremely advanced services within the region so patients that historically would be taken care of in large university hospitals in large cities can be brought to some of our regional hubs," Burwell said.

Additional specialists are available to the smaller hospitals through a sharing program within the hub. Burwell gave the example of a doctor who works one day in Somerset, one day in Bedford and three days in Altoona.

'Best practices'

Rush pointed to five physicians who see patients at UPMC Magee-Womens Specialty Services, 600 Aberdeen Drive, Somerset, and a full-time urology practice.

Burwell acknowledged that savings gained from the regional hubs improve UPMC's financial picture through efficiencies and shared resources in accounting, public relations and information technology. But he says the regions were developed for the patients.

"We really focus on what's in it for the patients and the community and how best to take care of our patients to improve the quality care, reduce complications and, moreover, improve safety of care within the region," he said.

By coordinating best-practices training across the region, all hospitals were awarded a Safety Grade A by the Leapfrog group.

"We are very excited about that," Burwell said. "How we did that was by leveraging best practices within the groups and sharing them to elevate various members in the region."

Kitty Zelnosky, regional chief nursing officer and vice president for patient care services, said working in the smaller regions helps provide consistency across the UPMC network.

Tapping into the health system's internationally recognized expertise, smaller hospitals have access to the same evidence-based practices used in the Pittsburgh hospitals.

"We have such a large system it is imperative that we are able to deliver the same message down and up, as they say," Zelnosky said. "I think that regionalizing allows us to do that and make sure that we are consistent in our practices."

Results of the approach are showing up in UPMC Somerset's bottom line, Rush said.

The hospital's latest analysis shows there has been a 16% decrease in Somerset County residents leaving the county for care and a 77% increase in people coming into the county for care since UPMC was added to the hospital's sign.

"It has really been fantastic," Rush said. "It's even better than I expected. We've been able to bring such high-quality care and specialty to Somerset."